The Multicultural Centre for Women’s Health (MCWH) has published our submission to the Inquiry into the Redevelopment of Melbourne’s Public Housing Towers. As the national voice for migrant and refugee women’s health and wellbeing, MCWH draws on an intersectional and rights-based framework to centre the voices of migrant and refugee women and gender diverse people in this critical conversation.
This submission focuses on the role of public housing as a key social determinant of health, and how the Victorian Government’s plan to demolish the 44 public housing towers and relocate residents to community housing risks compounding the systemic inequities faced by migrant and refugee women.
Migrant and refugee women make up a significant portion of residents in these towers — communities where care, connection and belonging are central to wellbeing.
Our submission outlines why public housing is vital for migrant and refugee women and calls for genuine, in-language consultation and an intersectional, rights-based approach to housing policy.
MCWH makes a seven recommendations to the Victorian Government, including the need for culturally responsive engagement, genuine in-language consultation with residents, and a reconsideration of the proposed demolition in favour of maintaining and investing in public housing as essential social infrastructure.